Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 2020)
OPINION READER’S FORUM Founded in 1906 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 A4 EDITOR’S DESK We owe our veterans more than we have given them his week we celebrate Vet- erans Day, honoring those who have served our country through military service. While the parades and other events are a nice thank you, and a good opportunity to educate the next generation on the sacrifi ces veterans have made, the holiday feels like meager thanks for what we have been given in return. Jade According to the U.S. McDowell NEWS EDITOR Department of Veterans Affairs, in 2019 about 4.7 million U.S. veterans — 25% of all veterans — had a disability that stemming from their service to our country. Others made different sac- rifi ces, whether it was missing the birth of their child while deployed or losing friends to war. All entered mil- itary service knowing they could lose their life as a result. It seems, in the face of such sac- rifi ce, that veterans should be set up for life with medical care, jobs and other basic needs. Instead, they often worse off than the general public — more likely to be homeless, more likely to be unemployed, more likely to die by suicide. As a country, we’ve made prog- ress in our treatment of veterans. While words of thanks may feel hol- low, there was a time they weren’t even given that. When I interviewed Artie Keller Jr., a Vietnam veteran in T Hermiston Herald, File Echo student Kenneth Troxell shakes hands with Pendleton veteran Thomas Tangney during a Veterans Day parade in Echo in 2018. Irrigon, in 2018, he described to me what it was like to hear people jeer- ing and screaming “baby killer” at him as he was wheeled off an air- plane on a stretcher with a hole in his leg that left him using a cane for life. But our system as a whole is still lacking. In 2014, investigative report- ing revealed that Veterans Affairs hospitals in some states were falsi- fying data to hide the fact they were unable to come anywhere close to meeting the mandates put in place about how quickly veterans must receive care. Some veterans died while waiting months to see a doctor about urgent health needs. Since then, new improvements have been made to the VA system and new laws have been passed on behalf of veterans, but it can still be diffi cult to get care. Some well-in- tentioned laws have been unfunded mandates that sound good on paper but haven’t had the funding to fully make them a reality. In 2019, the VA reported it had about 49,000 jobs unfi lled across the country, mostly medical positions. One reason cited for the struggle to fi ll those positions is that those qualifi ed for them would get paid more working in the private sector. I’m not an expert in the pros and COLUMN CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES Decriminalizing drugs affects livability hough cliché to say, it is true, elections do have consequences. I write these words for the sole purpose of asking our community to understand the repercussions of Ballot Measure 110 as it relates to local law enforcement. I do not write it as a political statement as I am appointed, not elected. If elected, I would have written this before the vote. Since my appointment in 2012, a goal of the Hermiston Police Jason Department has Edmiston been to focus on the livability of people who choose to call this incredible commu- nity home. As stated specifi cally from our goals, “a focus on those issues which impact the livabil- ity of the citizens we serve will high priority. This includes noise complaints, animal complaints, controlled substance enforce- ment, and all code issues includ- ing areas of blight consistent with the Broken Windows Theory of policing.” During the 2017 Oregon leg- islative session, we saw the fi rst major movement toward decrim- inalizing controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine and meth- amphetamine. That degrada- tion equates to hindered criminal investigations due to the arduous legalities involved with applying for and receiving a search war- rant signed by a judge. Contrary T to crime shows on television, investigations must be slow and methodical and resources in East- ern Oregon are limited. I would argue the majority of law enforcement offi cers across our nation understand the signif- icance of taking away one’s lib- erty and, though our criminal jus- tice system may not be perfect, we appreciate the fact we are all innocent until proven guilty. With additional hoops to navigate and knowing there is little account- ability on the front end, human nature comes into play, and many times, the path of least resistance is often the choice offi cers work- ing with dwindling resources make. What this means on our streets is an 85% reduction in drug enforcement over 15 years when looking at our 935 drug-related charges in 2004, versus the 140 drug-related charges in 2019. I used 2004 as a measure because that is when meth labs threat- ened the livability of our resi- dents. People today still call us when their neighbor is outside smoking marijuana, or atypical foot and vehicle traffi c coming and going from a suspected drug house is occurring. While that may adversely impact a caller’s livability, there is next to noth- ing law enforcement can legally do. With continued decriminal- ization of controlled substances (now comparable to minor traffi c violations), these calls for service are not going to get better for our residents. Ballot Measure 110, on the surface, appears to be a great move toward getting people into treatment. But, the realist in me cannot help but think about the absolute “kicking of the can” that has taken place in our state specifi c to mental health, home- lessness, addiction, and crime in general. Haphazard spending decisions by the Oregon Legisla- ture have forced police offi cers to become social workers trying to solve medical issues in the fi eld. Daily calls for service involving people in crisis or under the infl u- ence are the new norm. Yet, East- ern Oregon receives next to no state resources and Ballot Mea- sure 110 may further affect the livability of our residents, espe- cially if Salem continues to for- get about us. Our department likes hiring offi cers who want to live here and raise their families here. But, we cannot fi x every social ill thrust upon us without signif- icant resources and changes in laws from our elected leaders at our state capitol. We are the only profession in the world trying to put ourselves out of business, but continued declines in liva- bility through decriminalization will keep us busy even on those calls where our options are lim- ited. For that, we apologize to our residents on the front end. ——— Jason Edmiston is chief of the Hermiston Police Department. U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP STATE REP. GREG SMITH, DISTRICT 57 The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 whitehouse.gov/contact/ ——— 900 Court St. NE, H-482 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1457 Email: Rep.GregSmith@state. or.us ——— U.S. SENATORS RON WYDEN 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691 • Printed on recycled newsprint VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 40 Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673 Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536 Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531 Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538 The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN 8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838, (541) 567-6457. Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR. Postmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838. Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2020 STATE SEN. BILL HANSELL, DISTRICT 29 900 Court St. NE, S-423 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1729 Email: Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us ——— JEFF MERKLEY 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 Pendleton offi ce: 541-278-1129 ——— U.S. REPRESENTATIVE GREG WALDEN 185 Rayburn House Offi ce Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6730 La Grande offi ce: 541-624-2400 GOV. KATE BROWN 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, OR 97301-4047 503-378-4582 Email: www.oregon.gov/gov/ Pages/ share-your-opinion.aspx ——— MAYOR DAVID DROTZMANN 180 NE Second St. Hermiston, OR 97838 ddrotzmann@hermiston.or.us SPEAK UP Are you a parent who has been managing your children’s distance learning while working from home, struggling to fi nd child care or had to quit your job during the pandemic? The Hermiston Herald wants to hear from you about your experience this year. Submit a 250-word letter to the editor or a guest column of 400 to 650 words about your experience, along with your name, city of residence and phone number (phone number is for verifi cation purposes and will not be published) and you may be published on the opinion page of an upcoming edition of the Hermiston Herald. Letters and columns can be sent to editor@ hermistonherald.com or submitted via the letters form at www.hermistonherald.com. CORRECTIONS To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St. • visit us online at: hermistonherald.com cons of the specifi c reforms that have been suggested for veteran health care, but it seems clear the system needs work. It also seems clear that improve- ments to other systems in this coun- try — mental health care, addiction treatment, affordable housing, acces- sibility, etc. — can disproportionately benefi t veterans, who are overrepre- sented in those categories. So as you celebrate Veterans Day, think ahead to what you might do beyond the holiday. You might consider voicing sup- port to your elected offi cials for addi- tional funding for veterans services, or specifi c legislation. Or you might contribute to local nonprofi ts, such as Desert Rose Ministries, the Herm- iston Warming Station or the Agape House that help homeless residents. You could write letters to veterans who have been without visitors in local nursing homes since the pan- demic hit. Or help out a veteran you know personally. You can also share resources avail- able for veterans. The national Vet- erans Crisis Line available to all vet- erans, service members and their families is 1-800-273-8255 (or text 838255 or visit veteranscrisisline.net for an online chat). Umatilla County Veterans Services can be reached at 541-667-3121, or the names and con- tact information of individual staff can be found at co.umatilla.or.us/AD/ veterans.html. It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in the online versions of our stories. Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or call (541) 564-4533 with issues about this policy or to report errors. SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the Hermiston Herald readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters should be kept to 250 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be published. OBITUARY POLICY The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include small photos and, for veterans, a fl ag symbol at no charge. Expanded death notices will be published at no charge. These include information about services. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at hermistonherald.com/obituaryform, by email to obits@ hermistonherald.com, by fax to 541-276-8314, placed via the funeral home or in person at the Hermiston Herald or East Oregonian offi ces. For more information, call 541-966-0818 or 1-800-522-0255, x221.
